dNano Aluminum Wheels (w/ pics)

fraz · #1 08-09-2008, 04:01 PM

I told ya I was cooking up something

Click on the photo to see more close up pics.

Marcro · #2 08-10-2008, 10:12 AM

OH! ME WANTS, ME WANTS! Those kind of look like inch-up's too! Very nice! Did you machine those your selfe or what?

Marcro · #3 08-10-2008, 10:39 AM

Hello there. Has anybody seen these wheels on ebay? Check out item number 130245743807.
Somebody in Germany made a beautiful set of aluminum AVM style wheels for the Murcielago. I just picked up a set for mine! Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!

fraz · #4 08-11-2008, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcro

OH! ME WANTS, ME WANTS! Those kind of look like inch-up's too! Very nice! Did you machine those your selfe or what?

Yes, I did the CAD and these are specially machined for the dNano with the right size, lip and offset and locking nub. I can tell by looking at those ebay whels they are for a model or a slot car and while they may somewhat work or look good on a dNano, they won't have the locking nub/pin.

My buddy has a Haas CNC mill and we spent many hours getting the tool paths, etc. correct for these wheels. I am looking into production run costs with polishing and anodizing and I am checking around to gauge interest.

As for size, they are not inch ups but exact size of the 18" and 20" wheels on that dNano. It is an optical illusion because there is a little less meat/thickness on the rim and on the spokes. Typically an aluminum part is heavier but I would say these are equal or even lighter. My scale only goes to 1g resolution so I can't tell for sure right now.

Let us know what the fit and finish is like on those AVM wheels when you get them.

fraz · #5 08-12-2008, 01:36 PM

I just noticed on that wheel auction... "the car does not belong in action" so they are for shelf use only

They looked way too wide.

simpleskin · #6 08-13-2008, 08:30 AM

Very cool wheels, I'm interested in them. Will you produce all the sizes or just 18 and 20?

-j

Marcro · #7 08-13-2008, 08:50 PM

Thank's Faz, I did not know that. I'm a little bumbed now cause I was hopeing they were for the running chassis, not for the dumby chassis. I wanted to run the car with these wheels.
You should look into making different designs, inch-up's and width's. Some deep dish would be ideal for the rear wheels. I'm now more interested in your set than those AVM's. I haven't actually payed for theme yet so I'm wondering if they are worth the investment since as you said won't work on the running chassis. As for anodyzing goes, it would be cool to see theme in gold, blue, red, gun-metal, green even for that Mazda.

fraz · #8 08-14-2008, 01:49 PM

Yeah so the idea is to do 18 and 20 first namely because I have that car and if you look at the chart, they are the most popular combo. It is also very close for like 2 other cars. My friend just picked up a 917K and it has the most drastic size differences so I am going to use that as a test fit for clearance as well. The offsets are all the same so the diameters are the only thing that changes. I have a feeling that the 18/20 combo will work for the biggest cross section of dNano users. I was also thinking clear, gold, and black anodizing (no red, blue, purple, etc.) Gotta keep production costs in reality and I don't have a ton of money to throw away at a pet project. As it stands now, the initial CAD work and the prototypes you are looking at would have cost easily over $500-600 if I had shopped it out. It really helps to have a great friend with a killer CNC mill a mile from my house that is into this stuff too and has the skills

The CAD has been designed so the scaling should be a lot easier now for other sizes, offsets, etc. The problem is I have to get the production quotes back and see what is feasible and how much to charge based on the cost. dNano schtuff is very expensive and while I think I could charge higher prices, my goal is to make them priced low enough to where everybody would want, and be able to afford a couple sets. Ultimately I would love to have them cheap enough to where it is a non-decision and you'd go "I've gotta have 3-4 sets". I will keep y'all posted what I find.

BTW, the deep dish thing may have limitations. You do have some clearance issues and it does change your offset and handling greatly. I wouldn't be eager to go there if you want your car to work right. Not to mention, my wheels are WAY lighter than I thought they would be. Light and strong is good, extra material and more weight, not so good.

Marcro · #9 08-14-2008, 03:55 PM

Hi there, your colors sound great, but I was suggesting blue to match with Kyosho's aluminum parts.
By the way, the ebay seller of those AVM Daytona wheels sent me a couple of pictures of the wheels mounted on I assume his Dnano. Look's really good, but the rear's are wide and it look's like it needs to sets of tires, kind of like Tagu's 1/24 scale wheels useing two sets of Mini-Z tires.

I've asked him to take some more pic's of the inside of the wheels to see if those locking nub's are there. That is a crucial design with these rim's.
I did not think about the width causeing handling problems since it works so well on the larger Z's. I hope you do more styles, would be nice to see some BBS style wheels but I fully understand that pattern would be difficult at that scale.

nic-z · #10 08-17-2008, 12:26 PM

Given I have my merci mini-z hooked up with the tagu rims that are the same style and scale with, I couldn't resist these, I'll make them work if not I don't mind too much.

Marcro · #11 08-18-2008, 12:20 PM

Cool nic, take pics and let us know how you like'em.

nic-z · #12 08-28-2008, 01:30 PM

I got them today, They are sweet! Figured out an easy way to make them drivable. and still swap out wheels if needs be. I will post pics when I finish, I also need to find some more stock wheels for the double wide rears.

Marcro · #13 08-29-2008, 11:39 AM

Hi there nic-Z, did you receive the disc damper yet?

nic-z · #14 09-03-2008, 02:35 PM

Marc, Yeah man it looks dope trying to find some matching screws and I will take some pictures of it. I got those wheels mounted and I think the guy who sold them ment 'Car not included in AUCTION' because the wheels have knobs on the back of them that fit perfect on the slots and freak these things hook up nice on the track, I need to order some rear wheels for the fronts for better traction but yeah here are some pictures with and with out the tires. and then side by side with my mini-z
http://www.saltlakemini-z.com/forum/...a=myimages;u=2

Marcro · #15 09-06-2008, 04:44 PM

Sweet man. I need to get me some. Anybody have any information on the ball differential? I've tried contacting the owner of the DnanoShop but have not heard from him like two three month's now it seems. I wonder if it's worth trying to order from the shop.
Nic-Z, post pic's of that disc damper and let us know what you think. Let me know if it's worth investing in making more of theme!
If you can get a spare screw set for the Dnano, those should work for it.